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Journal
Notes on cacao
History, origin, science, recipes. What we learn along the way.
August 12, 2026 · 4 min read
The price that did not move
Between 2024 and 2026 the world cacao price hit a record and then fell to less than a quarter of it. What we pay the families in the Polochic stayed where it was.
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August 5, 2026 · 5 min read
What processing takes out
The useful compounds in cacao are fragile, and the most common industrial step destroys nearly all of them. Here is what the evidence supports, and what it does not.
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July 29, 2026 · 3 min read
How to make the cup
Amounts, heat and how to mix it: by hand, with a molinillo, in a blender or with a frother.
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July 22, 2026 · 3 min read
The best part was the foam
How cacao was really drunk in Mesoamerica, and why the famous molinillo came later than you think.
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July 15, 2026 · 3 min read
The gold they hid inside chocolate
A legend from the cacao route: chocolate shipments from Callao to Cádiz that weighed more than they should have.
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July 10, 2026 · 3 min read
Carried by Maya hands: how chocolate first reached Europe
Chocolate didn’t arrive in Europe with a conqueror. In 1544, Q’eqchi’ Maya nobles from the Verapaz carried it to the Spanish court themselves.
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